William Connell is a trombonist from Titusville, Florida. He started playing the trombone at 13 and began serious study of the instrument with Ian Schwindt at Titusville High School. During that time he performed with the Brevard Symphony Youth Orchestra, earned the principal trombone position of the Florida All State 11-12 Band, as well as performing with the Brevard County Honors Band and Orchestra. During the summer he attended the Cannon Music Camp and later the Interlochen Arts Camp where he studied for a summer with Philip Jameson. After high school, Connell attended the New England Conservatory in Boston under former principal of the Boston Symphony Ronald Barron. Connell now continues to study the trombone and pursues his degree at the University of Central Florida under Roy Pickering.
Connell has been a member of the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra since its founding in 2009, and has played an active role in the many chamber outreach programs along with the other members of the SCSO Low Brass section. He also performs with the Space Coast Oratorio Society and has been featured as a soloist with the Orlando Concert Band alongside his teacher Roy Pickering, with the University of Central Florida Wind Ensemble, and the Community Band of Brevard.
What is your favorite aspect about being a musician? My favorite part of being a musician is baring yourself in front of an audience. So much preparation goes into practicing a piece of music, but when you finally get in front of an audience, you are given one chance to express everything that you have been preparing. If you hold back, the audience knows. So in order to make a meaningful statement you have to push your limits and give it everything you can. There is no better feeling than doing that in front of an audience.
Which composers most inspire you? Composers inspire me through their actions in the context of their lives. Just to list a few, Shostakovich and Messiaen composed some of their greatest music in the face of death. Beethoven composed the 9th Symphony deaf. Some of the greatest composers lived comfortable lives, but these aren't the composers who inspire me. I am inspired by composers who had something to lose or composed in the face of adversary.
What is your favorite recording(s)? Yuri Temirkanov and the New York Philharmonic playing Scheherezade is always near my CD player. Another favorite of mine is Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic playing Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony.
What piece are you looking forward to most in the SCSO's 2010 - 2011 Season? It's hard for me to pick just one. We are performing some of my favorites pieces next year, but the program I am most excited about is "The Drama in Music". I know that from start to finish, the audience will be gripped by this music. Besides that, these pieces are gripping for the performers too!
